Greenfield Minor League Baseball continues to move toward a potential 2020 season.
The league announced it is preparing to begin skills and drills practice next week, as the Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan was released and youth sports were part of the most recent round.
“I think people definitely want to play,” began GMLB President Matt Zraunig. “The feedback we’ve gotten is, ‘When are we going to get out there?’ We’re doing our best to get things up and running. The excitement is there, we just have to make sure everything is safe for the players in our league.”
Phase 2 allows for practices only, and games won’t be allowed until Phase 3 of the reopening plan. That could come as early as June 29, and if that does indeed happen, the league is anticipating a July 5 Opening Day.
Under current guidelines, players can only practice in groups of 10 or fewer. They must maintain social distancing and can’t share equipment. Water fountains at Lunt Field will not be turned on, so players will need to bring their own water. Coaches will be required to wear face masks.
“We envision skills and drills to have a bunch of different stations set up, with kids spread out everywhere,” Zraunig said. “We’ll post specifics about how that’ll look this weekend.”
Zraunig said the league is calling on people interested in coaching this summer to attend a meeting this Friday (June 12) at 6 p.m. at Lunt Field (rain or shine). With additional guidelines needed to safely play a season due to COVID-19, he said there is a need for even more coaches than normal.
“That’s the big thing right now, getting committed coaches participating,” he said.
The plan would be for skills and drills to begin next week, and Zraunig said players in different age groups would meet on the following nights (all at Lunt Field, times to be determined):
Ages 8 and under – Monday and Thursday
Ages 9 and 10 – Tuesday and Friday
Ages 11 and 12 – Wednesday and Saturday
Pre-registration is preferred through league’s website (gmlb.org), but there will also be tables set up to collect fees and register people in person if necessary. All updates will be available on gmlb.org or through the league’s Facebook page.